The present invention relates to robotic apparatus and methods for automatically transferring small articles, such as seeds, between donor and recipient locations (e.g., respective containers) and optionally, for weighing the transferred articles.
Many types of horticultural and agricultural operations, both in a research and in a production context, involve manipulations of plant seeds and other units of plant reproductive material. For example, certain operations involve seed sorting, seed weighing, and analogous tasks. These tasks are labor-intensive and repetitive.
The scale of modern horticultural operations, as well as other operations involving propagation of plants, is continuing to increase. With large-scale horticultural operations, it is readily appreciated that tasks such as seed manipulation, sorting, and weighing ordinarily require large numbers of monotonous man-hours for completion. The enormous time and labor costs associated with these tasks can be prohibitive.
Hence, there is a need for automated equipment capable of performing any of various horticulturally related tasks such as seed sorting and weighing.
According to one representative embodiment, a robotic apparatus for handling particles, such as seeds, is provided. A robotic assembly of the apparatus is configured to move in three-dimensional space. A particle manipulator is carried by the robotic assembly to be the positioned by the robotic assembly at selected locations in the three-dimensional space. The particle manipulator includes a probe having an apertured end surface, in which each aperture is dimensioned smaller than a particle. The probe is fluidly connectable to a vacuum source so that application of a vacuum from the vacuum source to the probe is effective to cause the end surface of the probe to pick up particles whenever the end surface of the probe is positioned at a selected first location proximate to the particles. Release of the vacuum from the probe causes the end surface of the probe to release the particles at a selected second location, which can be the same or different from the first location. To facilitate release of the particles from the end surface of the probe, the probe may be fluidly connected to a pressurized fluid source for selectively introducing a pressurized fluid into the probe.
The apparatus also may include a cover-removal manipulator for removing and replacing a cover on a container containing the particles. The cover-removal manipulator may be carried by or mounted to the robotic assembly, along with the particle manipulator, to be the positioned by the robotic assembly at selected locations in the three-dimensional space. Alternatively, the cover-removal manipulator and the particle manipulator may be configured to move independently of each other on their own respective robotic assemblies. In addition, a particle-weighing device situated and configured to receive particles from the probe for weighing may be provided.
In one particular embodiment, the end surface of the probe includes a plate defining a selected number of apertures. Each aperture is dimensioned smaller than a particle, and the number of apertures corresponds to the number of particles to be picked up at one time by the probe. Thus, application of the vacuum is effective to cause the probe to pick up approximately one particle per aperture. In an alternative configuration, the end surface of the probe comprises a mesh screen having a mesh size smaller than a particle. Application of the vacuum to the probe is effective to cause the meshed surface to pick up one or more particles.
In an illustrated embodiment, the particle manipulator includes a first probe and a second probe. The first probe has an end plate defining a selected number of openings for picking up a corresponding selected number of particles upon application of vacuum to the probe. The second probe has a fine-mesh end surface that is capable of picking up an undefined number particles, which can be larger than the selected number of particles picked up by the first probe.
The apparatus also may include a particle-donor area and a particle-receiving area. The particle-donor area is configured to accommodate at least one donor container, and the particle-receiving area is configured to accommodate at least one recipient container. In this embodiment, the robotic assembly is configured to move the particle manipulator to the donor area to pick up particles from the donor container with the probe and to move the particle manipulator to the particle-receiving area to deposit particles from the probe in the recipient container.
In addition, a cleaning station for cleaning debris from the probes may be provided. In one form, the cleaning station includes a housing that defines first and second ports configured for receiving the first and second probes, respectively. The housing is connectable to a pressurized fluid source for introducing a pressurized fluid into the housing for removing debris from the probes inserted into their respective ports.
According to another representative embodiment, a robotic apparatus is provided for moving particles from a first container to a second container. The apparatus includes a cover-removal manipulator for removing and replacing covers on the containers and a particle manipulator for removing particles from the first container. The particle manipulator includes a probe having an end surface defining at least one opening dimensioned smaller than a particle. The probe is connectable to a vacuum source so that application of a vacuum from the vacuum source to the probe is effective to cause the end surface of the probe to pick up particles whenever the end surface of the probe is positioned in the first container proximate to the particles. In addition, the particle manipulator is configured to move the probe to the second container for depositing the seeds removed by the probe from the first container. To release the particles in the second container, the vacuum is released from the probe.
According to yet another representative embodiment, an apparatus is provided for removing seeds from a donor container. A robot means is configured to move in three-dimensional space. A seed-manipulator means is carried by the robot means. The robot means is configured to position the seed-manipulator means at a selected location in three-dimensional space so as to allow the seed-manipulator means to remove a selected one or more seeds from the donor container. A control means is operatively connected to the robot means and to the seed-manipulator means. The control means is configured to receive user input specifying the donor container from which one or more seeds are to be removed, to cause the robot means to move the seed-manipulator means to a selected location in three-dimensional space such that the seed-manipulator means is positioned to remove one or more seeds from the specified donor container, and to activate the seed-manipulator means to pick up one or more seeds from the specified donor container.
In another representative embodiment, an apparatus is provided for weighing one or more articles and for transferring the articles between recipient and donor containers. A transfer area of the apparatus has a surface for supporting donor and recipient containers thereon. A robotic assembly is configured for movement over the surface of the transfer area. A probe device is carried by the robotic assembly. The probe device is configured for picking up and releasing a sample number of articles in respective containers at selected positions in the transfer area. The probe device includes a first probe and a second probe. The first probe has a first-probe end plate defining a selected number of openings corresponding to the number of articles to be picked up by the first probe. Application of vacuum to the first-probe end plate is effective to pick up approximately one article per opening. The second probe has a second-probe end plate comprising a fine-mesh screen capable of picking up an undefined number, generally larger than the selected number, of articles. In addition, a weighing station is provided for receiving one or more articles therein from either of the first and second probes, and for weighing the received articles.
A method for transferring plant seeds (as representative particles) from a donor container to a recipient container, according to one embodiment, comprises positioning a first probe at a first position to remove seeds from the donor container. The first probe comprises a probe plate defining a selected number of openings configured to pick up a corresponding selected number of seeds from the donor container. A vacuum is applied to the first probe to cause the first probe to pick up the corresponding number of seeds. After seeds are picked up by the first probe, the first probe is positioned at a second position to deposit the seeds into the recipient container. The vacuum is then released from the first probe to cause the seeds to be released into the recipient container.
In an alternative method, the seeds removed from the donor container are weighed before being deposited into the recipient container. In a more specific approach for transferring and weighing seeds, the first probe, with picked-up seeds, is moved to a weighing device prior to depositing the picked-up seeds in the recipient container. At the weighing device, the vacuum is released from the first probe to cause the picked-up seeds to be deposited onto the weighing device, at which point the seeds may be weighed by the weighing device. After the seeds are weighed, a second probe having a fine-mesh end surface is positioned proximate to the seeds on the weighing device. The mesh surface has a number of openings larger than the number of openings in the probe plate of the first probe. A vacuum is applied to the second probe to cause the second probe to pick up substantially all the seeds from the weighing device. The second probe is then positioned at the second position to deposit the seeds into the recipient container, and the vacuum is released from the second probe to cause the second probe to release the seeds into the recipient container.
These and other objects and features of the invention will be more fully appreciated when the following detailed description of the invention is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.